Installing Hardwood Flooring

September 25, 2011

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There are some home improvement jobs that you can do on your own, and there are some that most people should leave to the professionals. Installing hardwood flooring is one of those things that can go either way. It is something that almost anyone can do with a little know-how, but it is an involved job that many find to be tedious. If you want hardwoods and you want to install them on your own, make sure you know what you are getting into before you decide if you want to do it on your own or if you want to call in someone to do it quickly and effectively.

Before you can go about installing hardwood flooring, you have to take up the flooring that you already have. You can buy what is called floating hardwood floors which goes over what you have, but most people will want to remove the old flooring to put the hardwood in over the sub floor. This requires some back breaking work and can be very frustrating. Some floor comes up easily and some does not. Give yourself plenty of time to do this. If you are doing this in your kitchen, be prepared to have the room in shambles for a while before you can use it again.

Once you have your floor area cleared, you have to put in the new hardwood flooring. This is something that requires a lot of cutting and fitting. You may have to do this on your own or you can get kits cut for your room size. If you do that, you are going to pay a lot more. Installing hardwood flooring is easy in the sense that it comes with grooves already in place so that the planks fit together, but when you come to the end of the job, fitting that last slat in means moving radiators, removing and replacing baseboards, and all types of wonderful details.

Once you have your floor in, you then have to refinish it. You can get already finished wood that you do not have to stain, but you will still have to coat it with some type of polyurethane to make it secure. You do not want water seeping in between your floorboards. This causes warping and chipping of the wood. You may find that installing hardwood flooring also means sanding a few times and then staining the floor. After that, you have to coat it with some type of sealant to protect your floor for a long time to come.

When installing hardwood flooring, get the tools that you need before you start. Nothing slows your project down quicker than having to run out time and time again to get some tool that you need. If you are not sure, you can always look online for a list. You can also talk to someone at a store. A qualified salesperson either in a store or online can tell you what you need and what you do not need. Remember that there are different ways of installing wood floors, so some types may not be as much work. You can do it, but be prepared to work for it.

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